December was an extremely busy
month for 5th & 6th Class. Not only did the children
have to finish their Christmas stockings, but they also had to rehearse their
Christmas Play ‘The Xmas Factor’. All the children worked really hard (as usual)
and put on a great show for everyone to see. On the last day, the children got
to give and get their Secret Santa presents to their not so Secret Santa!
Here’s some pictures to show all the work and fun that December brought!

The
final touches for our Christmas play.

Smiles all around whilst opening gifts.

OMG!
Another emoji cushion 😊

Wishing
everyone a happy and merry Christmas for all in 5th & 6th
Class!

Guest speakers

Over the month of December, 5th
& 6th Class were extremely lucky to have not 1, but 3 guest
speakers in! Firstly we had the lovely Grace Wells who did a poetry workshop
with the children on the theme of emigration. Grace is a poet and writer from
Tipperary who shared her knowledge on the Famine with us, something she is
currently writing about for her next book. The children learned about other
events that happened during this dark period of time such as the founding of
the tri coloured flag which we have today. The children also wrote some great
poems which will be displayed in next year’s Mountshannon Art’s
festival.

The children were also very
fortunate to hear from a local author, Ger Madden, who was so kind in giving up
his time to come speak to the children about the Famine and in particular how
it affected those in our locality. This really helped us all to understand and
relate to what was going on during this tough time, especially to those in the
areas we live in. Ger brought in pictures and medals which were
passed around the class for all to see, as well as his new book ‘The Annals of
the Poor- Scarriff Workhouse Union Counties Clare and Galway 1839-1851'. We are
so grateful to Grace and Ger for coming in and helping us learn more about the
Famine!

And lastly, moving from History
to Science, the children had a visit from Fr. Jones who carried out some very
interesting and fun experiments with the children just before the Christmas
holidays. The children learned all about various liquids and gases, as well as electricity.
Fr. Jones brought in a very old record player and vamp for his final experiment
showing that electricity can flow through us to create sound. However, once the
circuit broke (someone drops hands), the
sound stops.

Science Week

During the week of the 13th-17th November, 5th
and 6th class carried out various experiments for Science Week. The
children completed 4 experiments in total, all of which were given to them as
tasks which they had to figure out using the resources and materials given
(discovery learning). For example:

Huge congratulations to all the boys from
Iniscealtra N.S and Lakyle N.S who took part in the Divison 5 football final in
Cusack Park on Wednesday last, the 8th of November. Although the
boys won convincingly in the end, Carron/New Quay/Fanore put up a great battle
in extremely tough weather conditions. It’s great to have the title back this
side of the county after being so close over the last few years, the last time
the school(s) won a football final was in 1992! Comhghairdeas arís to all
involved!

The boys from Iniscealtra N.S with the winning
shield. Delighted as you can see!

Money,
Money, Money

This week, the children have been learning about
money and the various types of currency used around the world. Altogether, we
gathered 15 different types of old and new notes and coins (see below). The
oldest coin on the day was an Old Victorian Crown which dated back to 1890. We
also discovered that the Mauritian Rupee (Mauritius) cannot be ripped. Many thanks
to all parents and relatives who kindly lent us these notes and coins for the
day!

“I can’t
rip the Mauritian Rupee, Miss!”

‘Flashing
the cash’.

Making
sure it’s the real stuff!

All the
different notes and coins collected by the children.

The oldest coin on the day, an Old Victorian Crown
dating back to 1890.

Our
school census.

On the 26th of October, 5th
and 6th Class carried out our very own school census whereby they
gathered, interpreted and represented information about all the boys &
girls in Iniscealtra N.S through various forms of Data graphs and charts (see
below).

Here are some pictures to illustrate all the hard
work that went into the graphs, as well as some fun facts which the children found
out about the boys and girls in Iniscealtra N.S.